Shaanxi, a poor inland province in Northwest China, will speed up its industrial restructuring and technological innovation to advance its economic and social development, Governor Cheng Andong said.

The province will also increase investment in fixed assets and infrastructure and introduce more foreign capitals to fuel economic growth, Cheng said in his working report at the fifth session of the Ninth Shaanxi Provincial People's Congress.

The session opened on Saturday in Xi'an, Shaanxi's capital.

"The growth rate for Shaanxi's gross domestic product (GDP) is set at 9 percent for 2002, and at 10 percent for local financial income," Cheng said. Shaanxi witnessed a rapid development in major economic sectors last year. The annual GDP in Shaanxi reached 184.1 billion yuan (US$22.2 billion) last year - 9.1 percent more over 2000 and higher than the average level in the country, Cheng said.

"The major contribution to the rapid development was the investment in fixed assets and construction of infrastructure," Cheng said.

In 2001, 85 billion yuan (US$10.2 billion) went towards building railways, roads, telecommunications, urban and rural power supply systems, urban water supply and key water control projects, airports, power plants, and some large buildings such as museums, theaters and sports arenas, Cheng said.

Shaanxi invested more than 13.8 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) to renovate industrial technologies in the year. In addition, 25 large state-owned enterprises were reformed to be share holding companies, according to the working report.

Tourism is one of Shaanxi's leading industries. It received 759,000 overseas visitors and 33.6 million domestic tourists, Cheng said.

"In 2001, the province introduced US$380 million of foreign investment, a 27 percent increase," the governor said.

Thanks to last year's economic development, the living standards of local urban and rural people have improved.

(China Daily January 29, 2002)